Luther and the Reformation

    Today in class we talked about Martin Luther and the Reformation. My notes are included below.

The Church is weakened and vulnerable

  • socially- the Renaissance emphasis on the secular (worldly) and the individual challenged church authority
    • the printing press helped spread these ideas
  • politically- some rulers (especially the Germans) began to challenge the Church's political power 
  • economically- northern merchants resented paying church taxes to Rome 
  • "... religious reform please..." 
What's so wrong with the church?
  • corrupt leadership 
    • Renaissance- era popes spent extravagantly on personal pleasure 
    • Pope Alexander VI admitted he fathered several children 
  • Many priests and monks were poorly educated
    • How can you teach if you can barely read?
  • Some priests got married and had children 
  • Some priests drank to excess, many gambled 
But mostly indulgences 
  • The selling of indulgences (pardons) "releases a sinner from performing the penalty a priest imposed for sins" 
  • Johann Tetzel was a monk who sold indulgences to help rebuild St. Peter's cathedral
  • A monk named Martin Luther objected to this practice

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